New Confusions

 Back to Main Index Page
Back to "Hominids:Hominid Relationships" Page
Go to LSC
 
 

New Confusions: Australopithecines

Before building a hominid family tree of your own, consider the following sources ofconfusion and look at [Balter 2001] and [Aiello & Collard 2001] .

  • Where does Sahelanthropus fit into this tree? Or Orrorin? Remember, both are older than Ardipithecus? [1]
  • Australopithecus ramidus has been re-named Ardipithecus ramidus. Why? [2]
  • Is Kenyanthropus ancestral to Australopithecus, or is it a side branch, derived from A. anamensis or Ardipithecus? [3]
  • What is the relationship between ramidus and anamensis? [4]
  • Are either of these ancient hominids directly ancestral to A. afarensis (Lucy)? [5]
  • If Austalopithecus bahrelghazi is contemporary with "Lucy", is it possible to decide which - if any - of these two species is the ancestor of A. africanus? [6]
  • If A. africanus is not ancestral to Homo, where does it fit in? [7]
  • To whom is Paranthropus robustus most closely related: P. aethiopicus or A. africanus? [8].
 

 

New Confusions: Hominines

Our understanding of the genus Homo is also becoming more complex.

  • What is the significance of the ancient Homo jaw recently found in Ethiopia? [1]
  • What is happening to H. habilis in taxonomic terms, and from which ancestral group did it evolve? [2, 3]
  • Is the taxon H. ergaster valid? [4]
  • How useful is the taxon "H. heidelbergensis"? [5]
  • Do modern humans belong to the same species as Neanderthals? [6]
  • The defenders of the multi-regional hypothesis continue to defend it. What do you make of the debate? [7]